psychedelic_mustache Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Artist: Side Liner Title: Emotional Diving Label: Cosmicleaf Records Catalog: CLCD04 Released: 2006 Tracklist: 01. Morning Dewdrops 02. Screaming Tears (Zero Cult rmx) 03. Emotional Diving 04. Something Beautiful (Is Out There Mix) 05. Drawing My Life 06. Sehensucht (feat. D. Batistatos) 07. Haunted Thoughts (Cydelix Remix) 08. Memories Side Liner is Nick Miamis, also known as melodic trancer Mendark. He's also managing both Cosmic Leaf records and it's sister-label Unicorn Music. After releasing quite a few compilations we're now presented with his own debut-album under the side liner guise. My expectations before digging in to this thing were limited, as I haven't really heard too much "Side Liner" before... Let's listen to the tracks... 01: Morning Dewdrops Morning Dewdrops opens the disc with a range of plesant sounds. A nice melody-line together with some atmospheric sweeps creates a solid bottom. After a while a pretty straight-forward break-beat and some semi-dubby basslines kick in. It all amounts to a nice, listener-friendly blend of light chillout... A decent opening, but not among my favourites on the album.. 02: Screaming Tears (Zero Cult rmx) This album contains quite a few remixes. The first one is by Zero Cult, a guy I mainly know from compilations on cosmic leaf records. Here he remixes 'Screaming tears' from last years pretty nice compilation 'fragile life'. I actually like this remix a tad better than the original, it seems more structured, and perhaps a bit deeper than the original. Lot's of space here, some nice refreshing melodies and a bit of a tribal influence. Nice! 03: Emotional Diving Next up is the albums title-track. This is a pretty great piece of music, with the main emphasis being put on heavvy dubby influences and a rough, but steady breakbeat... It's pretty varied throughout the entire thing and the last few minutes of this track is pretty darn great! One of my definite favourites on the album...Very nice! 04: Something Beautiful (Is out there mix) We continue on the rather dark and bass-ridden path, but this time less dubby. Don't get me wrong though...this isn't dark like Nordhaunt or Svartsinn...It's just alot more sinister and emotive than I had excpected. This track is actually pretty darn spaced-out, and at times rather groovy. The melodies work nicely and doesn't get cheesey. Another solid track! 05: Drawing My Life 'Drawing my life' if the fift installment of this album, and again Side Liner continues to surprise me. This is a pretty hypnotizing track, the melodies here are trancey and spacey and the beats are somewhat more up on the tempo-side of things. Still firmly placed withing the realms of sofa-friendlyness.. 06: Sehensucht (feat. D. Bastistatos) D.Batistatos is another fellow I only know from other compilations on Cosmic leaf. This track moves more along the paths I had expected from this album. It's pretty light, but it still has a melancholic edge. Lots of different melodies, lot's of bass and a female voice comming in and out to sing from time to time. This is listener-friendly chill at it's best and I'd really enjoy this in a cafè of some sorts. Doesn't really stand out on the album, though... 07: Haunted Thoughts (Cydelix rmx) This is a remix of "haunted thoughts" - a track I only know from the compilation 'Nova Natura' where a live-mix i featured. It's a melodic, yet pretty dubby piece. Not among the deepest here, perhaps, but it does it's job well. I'd considder this one for the beach, or again - for the cafès. A nice track, but as with sehensucht - not among my favourites. 08: Memories We enter the more introspective realms with "memories" as Nick Miamis paints a blue'ish landscape with his sythesized sweeps and floating sounds. The rythm-section here reminds me somewhat of a millitary band playing some kind of march, and somehow it actually works very well. After the last two tracks this is refreshing and the album again gains momentum towards the end. Nice work! 09: Transparent Thought (rmx for Percussion Bullet) Percussin Bullet is a new progressive-trance project from greece(correct me if I'm worng). I haven't had the time to make my self familiar with their recently released debut yet, so I cant really compare this to the original work. Still I was a bit sceptical seing this on the track-list. Those of you familiar with Nick Miamis other alias 'Mendark' should know he isn't excactly famous for his progressive beats. Still - this isn't bad at all, though perhaps a bit to flat for my liking. Pretty straightforward.Still, he proves he's a man of versatile interests, and thats alway interesting! No favourite here, though. 10: Something Beautiful (Arcane Trickster rmx) Arcane Trickster remixes "Something Beautiful" as the last track of this album. It's not a bad remix either, but I prefer the earlier version. Still, this is yet another pretty solid track, and it finishes the album nicely.. Final remarks: So...I must say that this album has caught me somewhat by suprise! I was excpecting a nice enough background chill-album, but Side Liner delivered beyond my expectations here. As a debut album this is good stuff, and cosmic leaf as a label also shows nice progression... Tomas(Psychedelic mustache) Buy it here: psyshop Amboworld Saikosounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cocco Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 The first track I like! The beat and melodies, coupled with the emotional sustained notes and/or ambience compliment the song and make it memorable. I like those quick key notes they echoed (daa) here and there. That's good. This is the best song for me on the album. Why can't other tracks have more feeling and punch like this one?! Track 2 is a bit too slow, floaty, lacking in punch or character. I like something a bit more dynamic like the first song. More of a beat/chill with catchy emotional melodies like Asura's earlier work would have been a better direction too. Give the songs more catchy melodies, energy, imagination, emotion, and rhythm! Track 3 kinda lumps along.. bump, bump... boring. Track 4 is okay. There just isn't that much going on I feel. The melodies come on and off with a strange sound and voices coming in and out. The song doesn't do much, but has a nice beat and sounds unique to the voice.. I like a melody that comes in during the second half or so.. and plays along with several other melodies. It's all very simple though. Track 5 is alright... decent beat, clicks... peaceful sounding, along with some other cool sounds. It's not that good but it's not bad either. Track 6 is too slow and bland for me. Don't hold down single ambient notes for too long with voices unless you really have something to back it up, such as an amazing wave of beautiful melodies, notes, sounds, etc.. hitting hard like a gust of wind. Track 7 has nice melodies, uplifting (maybe fluffy melodies) but I like it. Track 8.. blah. Some nice chimes but that's about it.. lacks imagination. Track 9 has more pick-up, tunes.. too repetitive for sometime until it changes and becomes more catchy.. until that part gets repetitive too. The last track 10 is just boring, plain, and not catchy to me. I don't know. It's gotta be more powerful, sad/beautiful melodic, emotionally capturing than the album is as a whole. Think of that music in Gladiator when he joins his family in Heaven at the end. Give me something that is impressive, moving, innovative. Think of the first Enigma album!! Think PHOBOS!!!!! This album is OKAY with some good ideas. Nothing more imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headbot Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 thank you for your feedback music mates ============================================== review from MIKE G. AmbientMusicGuide.com @ http://www.ambientmusicguide.com The Cosmic Lounge, Chillout Channel @ http://www.di.fm Ultima Thule, 2MBS-FM Sydney @ http://www.ultimathule.info ============================================== SIDE LINER Emotional Diving (Cosmicleaf/Unicorn Music) Side Liner aka Nick Miamis runs one of the most creative progressive and psy-trance labels in the world right now. Unicorn is the main label while Cosmicleaf is an outlet for the more ambient-leaning material created by both himself and other artists from around the globe. If you liked either of their first two various-artist collections Chilled On Ice (2004) and Fragile Life (2005) then Miamis' new solo album Emotional Diving is an essential purchase. Euphoric and emotional it certainly is, but the crisp, intelligent and varied drum programming alone puts this well above overcooked commercial ambient trance comps for the cafe set. Rhythmically there's elements of electro, breakbeat, dub and 4/4 dance. Layered and strongly melodic, at its best the deep lushness of Review from Mike G Side Liner's music is brilliantly balanced with spiky sounds, odd machine noises and percussive stabs all deployed in a very musical way. The certain edginess that is fundamental to all intelligent dancefloor trance doesn't have to disappear when crossing into the ambient zone - it just needs rethinking. This is becoming a Cosmicleaf trademark and few labels are doing it better. Rating: 4/5 Review by Freeze Magazine (Greece) / Rated 95% ===================================================== The debut album of Nick Miamis (aka Side Liner) is not from the cds that u will say "one more computer wizard which released music". More than 10 years in music industry was seeking in music composition and finally he founds the sound which fit him perfect. Emotional chill ambient in the paths of wailing and searching, with musicality and emotions , rhythms which demagnetising from stress and guide to optimism of things. If you collect good ambient chill music don't miss this album. ============================================== review by Pedro Gaspar aka Juggler Juggler (Chaishop.com/Quark Agency) ============================================== Here we have the debut album of Side Liner, with some original tracks and some remixes. The atmosphere of track 1 starts very slowly and peaceful, it gives you something like an “out of body” experience, like if you are seeing something with your eyes closed…by other side, there is a melody that gives a melancholic feeling too. Track 2 remixed by Zero Cult have a downbeat formula mixed with some beautiful psy tunes, I think more to the sunshine time…some sounds make me think that this is the end of something that it’s not supposed to end…nice sound Track 3 is very lighter…I think it can be the perfect soundtrack for something with an Actimel aspect till some time it’s very pleasing but after, it starts to be a bit repetitive…I think it could evolve a little more. Track 4...My cat loves this one, the 2 times that I listened near her she started to sleep the downbeat sounds are there, very playful and criative...very trippy one, especially for the dark hours. In track 5 I feel my body like if I’m walking in a dark den, walking very slow...from time to time I can see some light beams coming from the rocks, very bright and peaceful...when comes the break, it seems that I’m finding a lagoon full of water, and here I can choose from two possibilities: to dive into or to come back to the start...you have to listen the rest of the track to know it...very very deep. Track 6 is very quiet again...it’s a bit repetitive but has a beautiful women singing that gives some movement and some beauty to the track. Track 7 can be used for a passerelle...it has some trip-hop beats, a groovy and hypnotic bassline that I don’t know why but makes me think in some women defiling on a passerelle... Track 8 can be called “Puzzle”...it starts with just one piece and second after second it gains one more piece and another and another till we start to see something, some good progressive chilling stuff Track 9 is a bit more fast (126bpms)...it has a deep and power bassline in a downtempo mood...another track representing the more progressive side of chillout. Track 10 gives again the pacific and mellow atmosphere of the ambient music...some psy tunes very inebriate, mixed with a more classic sound but very deep too. Great surprise this Side Liner debut album , all tracks have a nice construction and progression... very relaxing and perfect for listen after some Summer party. 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headbot Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Musical Starstreams Radio Show Top 20 Albums of 2006 ------------------------------------ #6 Side Liner Emotional Diving Full Top 20 at: http://www.starstreams.com/playlists/top20/top2006.html New Side Liner album coming in Feb 2007, demos: www.cosmicleaf.com Seasons Greetings to everyone, Cosmicleaf Records Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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